Director makes a noise with The Quiet American

December 18 2002By Lawrie Zion

Hot on the heels of his best-picture win for Rabbit-Proof Fence at the Australian Film Institute awards, director Phillip Noyce has been feted in Vietnam, where his latest film, The Quiet American was to have its premiere last night.

Adapted from Graham Green's 1955 novel and largely shot in Vietnam, the film is a romance-cum-political thriller starring Michael Caine and Brendan Fraser as two very different men vying for the affections of a local woman called Phuong, played by Do Thi Hai Yen.

Though acclaimed by critics since its release in the United States last month, the $A49 million production was shelved for nearly a year by its American distributor, Miramax, in the wake of the events of September 11, because it was thought to be too critical of American foreign policy.

It opens in Australia on January 16.

Noyce was named best director of 2002 last week by the New York-based National Board of Review for The Quiet American and Rabbit-Proof Fence, both of which were named in their list of the year's 10 best films. ");document.write("

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The Quiet American was also included in the American Film Institute's list of the year's 10 best movies and is expected to figure in the Golden Globe nominations, to be announced on Friday.

Speaking from Vietnam before last night's premiere at the Hanoi Opera House, actor Brendan Fraser, who plays the titular character, Alden Pyle, told The Age that the controversy surrounding the film was "just in keeping with what novelist Graham Greene was all about". Of his character, he said: "In a true sense he inspires conflict, because he's an innocent, and a villain, depending on your politics. You want to protect him because you care about his fate, but have to ask if he had it coming to him all the same.

"He believes he's acting with moral certainty about his actions and can make the world a better place by what he's doing. But his naivety is unbecoming."

Yet while Fraser says the film can be seen as a cautionary tale, he adds: "Let us not forget that it is also a romance and a thriller."